Machine for loading envelopes



Nov. 10,.1942. w ALDEN, JR

MACHINE FOR LOADING ENYELOPES Filed Feb. 14, 1940" 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w. H. ALDEN; JR

' MACHINE FOR LOADING- ENVELQPES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 aFiled Feb. 14, 1940 s Y ,E N R m A Nov. 10, 1942. w. H. ALDEN, JR

MACHINE FO R LOADING ENVELOFES Filed Feb. 14, 1940. 4'Sheets-Sheet3 NOV. 10, 1942. w. H, ALDENy JR MACHINE FOR LOADING ENVELOPES 'Filed Feb. 14, 1940 I 4 Sheets-Sheet-4 carting material inz'the envelope 1 j tirely automatic in ,all of the more essential moving parts receive their motion mm a sinsle reciprocating meant-.3

' her; which latter can be driven-in any desired manner, manually or by a motor:

3. To provide a machine oi I scribed having means envelope into "which i as to place it in 1 material with which 4. To provide a a Patented Net. '10, 1942 m'rao 's'rTEs 1 2361,35

all ma Applica I 19 1H3, This invention relates to a machine go;-

into an envelope and then seal-- if desired, preparatory to mailing, and is especially concerned with improvemoon: in this type 0! device which will zreatly broaden its usefulness particularly in ing or invoicing large numbers at addressees.

circulariz- The euew t mam w, a

l ioliowa: i v I To provide a machine of the character described which is capable oi! i'olding a. letter or; inserting it. either with or r" without a return env l pe or postal card or other supplementary matter, into and nnallysealing the loaded envelope. lied depaired, preparatory to mailing it; a machine capable or performmg m oirculator and then 2. To provide insthe functions enumerated above which is enits operation and in which the character do for opening the flap of the,

pulling the envelope free the proper it is to be nlled or loaded;-

01 the supply stack so a suitable compartment for ceiving the loaded envelcpewiti'i whlchJs' asso-l ciated certalngrlpping means adapted to hold lighten and make them moralmp t w l 20 portion oi the machine in order to show certain for auppleinaxetum the material is to be iii-- vcarted and then positively gripping the flap and device which will positively open the back 01 the envelope after the flap has been opened so as to insure adequate entrance I apace for the material which is to he i into the'envelope;v

-- 5 To provideion February 14, 19%,

ml. 9) i g in preferred form in the. accompanying 7 W5. wherein- Figure l is a side elevation it? his? raved machine; Figure 2 ice. vertical longitn caution approximately as indicated by e l cl Figure 3;-

Figure 3 is a plan view with oer poitlona and d and and members and position to receive the time of improv general, to improve their 'einciency and depcnd f ability and rpeed up their operation; a

new the meaning,- toflethorwith such wer object; as may appear hereinafter or are metdent to my invention. are obtained-la illustrated from euitahle sheet metal reenforced where,

a.? No. 31%,837

broken away as indicated in order 1y illustrate some 0! the details;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary viewed enlarged scale illustrating certain details oi to more clear the invention associated with the envelope cent a mailing envelope" we, c

Figure 5 is a iragmen sectional view, also a on an.

a" e 8 is a fragmentary aide elevation at ieaturw oi the envelo or other auppll'l! matter which. are to he ted into the antelope to he mauled y 1;: to the on it will he a cultehle hlrnelnd on supporting lrameworh havlnc aide momheln "l time work. however, to part total per ,1.

oi the inv tion and it he ohvlouo that it could iomwhlch may be eonuenlt or desirable, although l prefer to intricate it ovations W. the several-opene mechani loe pet-i by this irameworh, structure sides around the pivot pin it, The! blade spring it. The pivot for the era lt takes the form of a tranarer e enroll il in by means of which the rtlon ll sto en properly a I 7 are l; operation, will now he descrlhm. l. reier mat to'the mechanism for a an initial told in the. letter or circular- "to be rted-in' an envelope. Thin If} a comm a blade ii plvotalllr mounted at the 1 upon the suppoll, which latter proper Korma one face of in suitable trainee framework 96 to the wrtion oi which is pivoted a pair of fingers id which yiel; u'mcd toward the blade by me of thcfiooil 2 c ansons from the face of the blade 81!. In the position The blade 4! is of substantially rectangular shown in Figure 2 the fingers are adapted to hold term as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 where 'a card l9, or other supplemental matter, to be its left-hand edge is indicated by the reference inserted intoan envelope, which card is released character 4M and its right-hand edge by the re!- when the parts assume the position shown in 5 erence character lib. As will be seen, the blade Figure 1, where the crank portion it of the pivot is disposed in a horizontal plane and its length rod 11 has contacted the stop member 2a which. extends transversely of the machine. At its holds the member il-IB, together with the flnright-hand side it is provided with lateral extengers l5, against further movement while the sions 41c and at. The end 41d is rigidly seblade ll continues its movement a short addi- 1Q .cured to a bearing block 42 which is mounted for tionaldistance. as will be described just below. longitudinal sliding movement along the guide 1 As is clear from the drawings, this action moves rod 43. The end He projects over a guide rod T the fingers it away from the blade H and per- 44 upon which it slides during recipro ati of A mits the card l8 to fall by gravity. the blade. The block 42 has an extended bear-- U While in the position shown in Figure 2, a. ingupontherod 4lsoastopreventall sheet 01 paper, 1. e., a letter or a circular 2|, is or cocking of the blade during operation or th i placed upon the upper plate 22 of the machine machine. It will be understood, of course, that with approximately one-third of its length exother methods of mounting the blade 4| tor its 1 tending to the right of a slot 23 through the plate reciprocating movement may be employed,

22, and the other two-thirdsto the left of said 201 Motion can beimparted to the blade by means slot. As the blade II, in its downward swing, of the knob or handle 45 having a stem 40 which comes into contact with the paper, it forces-it in can be screwed into the block 42. Power can be the beginning of a fold down and between a pair 2. applied either manually or by means of a suitof creasing rollers 24 and 25, as clearly shown in able motor. A motor drive is not illustrated Figure 1. The roller 25 is .vily held in no v herein'because the principles and m features sition by means of a pair of springs 28. one at; ot my improved machine are to be considered a each end, which springs react between the bear ingsfor the roller ands. suitable supportin abutment 21 through which latter there slidesa;

guiding rod 28. r fund moving itlongitudinally of the ma- The rollers are preferably rubber faced, and; "i c' 1 the roller 24 is continucush driven in any de= Incidentally, m th further description of my sired manner as by means of a small motor 29 invention, I will refer to the movement of the and a belt 3!. As soon as the paper 2i contacts blade from right to left as its advancing m the rollers it is. or course; seized by them and ment and its movement tram left to right as passed downwardly along the dot and dash line its retreating or' return movement. In Figure 1, i

ll shown in Figure i. In the'meantime, the 3 the blade 4| is shown in its extreme right-hand 1 l card I 9 or other supplemental matter has been position lu t to begin the fol-ward crack discharged into the fold or crease and is carried vancing stroke, while in Figures 2 and 3 thg n hr u h the r rs to t r wi h the pa r. 4o b1ade is in its extreme left-hand position Just and when the operation is completed the paper; ready to begin its return stroke. Y Y carrying this supplemental matter assumes a. vertical position within a V-shaped trough or re taining member 33, as shown by the dot and dash lines 32-31. V-shap-ed members 34, v with a slot between them at the bottom, are pm A. vided for properly ding and holding the paper H v l in its vertical position ready for the second fold ;The envelope; to b g m in which will be imparted in a manner to be derlzontal position in asuitable' compartment 41 scribedhereinai'ter. 1 Z mm th flaps m; downward and The motion required by the blade H is imranged at the right-hand side of the stack. 'At parted yv f t crank 35 r i y a h one side the edge of the stack'rests upon a short near one end or the hinge pinit. A rod 36 conhorizontal shoulder 49, and at the th r side on v nects the free end of the crank so with the upper 1 another ledge or shoulder II, which latter inend of an actuating lever 3i, which letter is pivclines downwardly from the horizontal at a slight t oted upon a mounting 33 at a point intermediate angle, as shown most clearly in Figure 4. Exit d A coil spring 39 normally urges this perience has shown that an angle or approximechanism to the right so that the blade H as- .mately 45 yields best results for most envelopes, i sumes the position shown in Figure 2, from although aalight adjustment or variationlnthis which position it is moved to perform the funcangle may possibly be necessary for some types tions already described, by virtue'of the fact that or weights of envelopes. No definite rule as to the lower end 66 oi the operating lever 31 prothe angle to be employed can b i but a v jects downwardly into the path of movement of little experiment will quickly demonstrate .what a horizontally arranged, reciprocating blade ii, is the most satisfactory angle for any particular the purpose and function of which letter will be set oi conditions. more fully described hereinafter. For the pres- The angle or slope of the shoulder or ledge II ent it is simply noted that when this blade 4i and the fact that it projects inwardly toward the moves to the right, it engages the end it of the envelope only a comparatively short di tan h lever 31 and moves it tothe right, moi finally an important bearing on the ea t which causes the end it to ride on the upper surface 7 each envelope can be removed from the supply of the blade 45, as clearly shown in Figure 1, in or feeding stack 41. 1 which position the blade it has been moved to In the functioning of my improved machine. cause the initial crease or fold in the paper 2| an envelope is removed from the feeding stack. and the supplemental matter l9 has been in opened and placed in position to receive the mg serted therein. terial with which the envelope is to be loaded,

Before proceeding with afurther description j of the purpose and functions of the blade 4|, 1 I certain other features of the machine should now, i "be described inv order to lay a basis for a more 1 logical presentation of the operationv ot the ma- 1 china as a whole. I w 1 downward direction.

v and the'nature and operation this portion of slight inclination of this shoulder already de= the device will now be described. scribed. v As the blade starts its return stroke the rear When the envelope has reached the position edge or its extension lie first comes into conjust described I have found it desirable, in order tact with the downwardly projecting end of an to ensure dependable operation,to positively open actuating lever 5| which iorms, as it were, one the back of the envelope. and this portion of the foot of a link 52. The other foot 53 comes into invention will now be described. The blade, of play on the forward or advancing stroke of the course, is still retreating, and when its rear edge blade, as will be described later, and the two Mb contacts the upper end of the lever it (which feet 5| and 53 unite to form the body portion 54 is shown in dotted lines in Figu e 2 and in full, 7 which eflects the connection tothelink 52. The lines in Figure 1), the lever M will be swung link, 52 is pivotally connected at 55 to a guide upon the pivot to the position shown'in Figure arm 56 which swings around a pivot 51. An l, with the upper end of the lever '34 finally coninwardly projecting lug 58 on the end of the arm tacting the under face oi the blade Bl. During I5 is adapted to come into contact with the up- 15 this swinging movement of the arm N the back per edge or the link 52 when the arm 56 and opening fingers 16 are swung to the position the link 52 assume a horizontal position, such as shown in Figure l by means of the mechanism shown in Figure l. acts as a stop and now to be descri A pair of parallel links I? prevents too great a degree of movement in the and I8 .is provided at each side of the machine e 1 90 and suitably carried on a portion 80 of the sup" v I. As willbe clear from Figures 1 and 2, moveporting structure. The links ll are pivoted upon ment of the lever 51 to the rightunder the inthe rod M in such manner as to cause the links j'iluence of the extension lie or the blade M, as and the rod to rotate together, suitable adjust- Just described, serves to swing to the right a ment being possible by virtue of the slots 82. The pair of parallel links 59. and Bil," the other end lever ll at one side of the machine extends downof link 52 being pivotally connected at 6! to apwardly and carries at its lower end a balancing proximately. the middle oi'the link 59. The upweight 83. Near one end the rod M is provided per end 0! the link 59 pivots upon the pin 62 with a crank 84 which is connected by means of and the upper end of the link 60 upon ,the pin a rod 85 to another operating arm 88, the lower 53, there being a slot 84 in the link 60 by means end of which pivots on the pin 8'! and the upper oi which a slight adjustment'oi the length of end 88 of which is adapted to project intothe the arm 60 can be obtained in order ,to secure path or movement or the blade M when the parts proper adjustment of, what I have termed the arena the position shown in Figure l.

flap opening blade 65, which is pivotallycarried The lower. ends of the li 1e are pivoted at upon pins 56 and 51 at the lower ends of the 6d to the supporting structure 86. Between the arms 59 and 60. The angle of the flap opening upper ends of the links T7 and I8 is pivotally carblade 65 can bevaried by increasing ordecreas j ried the envelope b Opening device 99 wh h in: the effective swinging length of the arm or' 1 includes a blade-like part 96 and the spring linlink 60. c g "1: gers it already mentioned. As in the case of the The arms 59 and are duplicated-one set 40 flap opening device, this mechanism constitutes a "'[i'oreach end of the blade 85,-and,- as they move; v p a e n mec sm ich. y suit e adto the right under the influence or the action of iustment, can be made to have the necessary Imthe blade ll on the root 5i, as just. described, thev tion for accomplishing the purpose described.

right, hand edge of the blade 65 slips under the. T e lin i is op t y connected o the link flap "of the lowermost envelope, which flapgotja ll; by. means of the tie rod 92 which. Pi a $3 on the link Mandat 94 on the link 'i'l. The

course; will be hanging downwardly slightly;

the motion to the right continues, the flap will-he" connect n rod. b ween t c an d the pushed around until. it gradually assumes the: arm 88 is also pivotally secured at its ends to the position shown in Figures 1 and5. Toward the members which it connects. Near the upper porend of its stroke the blade will press the end, 't 013 81 .11 which c s the Weight 5 l5 of the flap 48 against the end or what! shall term connected a rod 95 which slides through a suita pressure bar 68 swung between the iowerends able cleat 95 and which carries at its end a spring or a pair (it links 69, the upper ends oiqwhich are ,9! reacting between the cleat at the right and a also mounted upon the 11111.82. Normally, th z'nut' or nuts 98 at the left, in such manner as to arms 59 and the pressure bar 58 which they'carrybg *urge the back opening device'to the left. are held inzthe position shown' in Figure '2 by The operation of the back opening mecha means ottheL-shapedspring wires Ill reacting is as follows. As the blade retreats it contacts between a suitable portion of the supporting the upper end of the lever N, and when it reaches iramework and the bars 59.; The springs Iii are =its final right-hand position the parts of the back mounted upon pins" aroimd which they fulopening mechanism have assumed the position crum. A stop 12 prevents the bar 58 and its supindicated inifigure 1. when the forward or leftporting arms 69 from swinging too far to the lei hand stroke 0! the blade begins, the end or the under the influence ot-the springs I0; ,The be ever it first comes out from under the blade at and as the blade continues its motion the spring a! may be mounted in suitable slots 13 in the low er. ends-of the arms or links 69, so that its 9i initially causes the parts to follow the blade, and as they do so the spring fingers l6 enter the den" may be adjusted slightly if necessary-"- I I v 'whentheblade presses the end or the flap i back of the envelope and by virtue or their cur= igainstthe bar 68, as just described, theflap is-- vature serve to positively open the back of the positively yet releasably gripped between the two envelope as clearly shown in Figure 5. The blade members and as motion to the right continues M carrying the matter to be loaded or inserted the envelope is positively withdrawn from the into the envelope still further advances and enshoulders 49 and 50 and pulled away from the ters the open back, also as shown in Figure 5, supply stack 41 into the position shown in Figures passing over the ends of the spring clips is which 1 and 5.' Motion oi' the envelope away from the yield in order to permit such insertion. As the ledge or shoulder50 is greatly facilitated by the blade continues its advance to the left it will H2 and central suppose ill eovelom'pireviously inl evacuees extend farther enoi farther into the envelope until such time as the envelope is poeliively moved and carried with the blade, cl". which time the flop 8% of the envelope is pulled free oi the grip effected by the bleele Emil the be @8. Finally, when the envelope is moved sumcienlly for to the left to remove it from the fingers '38, the blade contacts the upper end of the arm 85 and gives a sudden motion to lhe boo-l: opening mechanism which selves lo the quickly down into the position shown in Figure where it completely oui; of the way of the motion oi the blade until such time as ii. ageiu contacts the upper end of the arm on file; re= turn stroke.

The extension Alfie the blecie carries of: its forward edge between e lo supports Eli? projecting actueih which contacts the upper end fill o B guilt (lesciibell. also ecliuaiee coming positioning mechanism b3 comics inbo contact with the rearwai'clly our? 5 Q2316 loci: This letter combos. o ,l to opening and envelope osiolthe position sbowii la i are ready to start the oi ope was intended and 21- Prior to the bl its final left-lleud position shown in Figure 2, it is necessary that, other mocllemsm be moved, which mechanism relates: lo the ieoolv inc and sealing oi? oi loaded envelope. This new be described. A pusher box; lib-ii bvefcrebly hollow, is molmted upon a supporfing piece which, in turn, is carried oithe low of as poi cl oppositely disposed, vertically extending room we which can be moved upwardly libel downwardly by means oi the piniorie we. The obvious are rigidly fastened tion of which I sprocket lee colwhich also pessec around the gem; oibei" end of the machine. The chain diiveie by connecting it to the pin by mean of e link N8.

As will be seen by e scribe be i and 2, when the octuctliig bloc ll 5e its right-howl position, the pusher member 9555 lo its uppermost position. where it proleote well; into. the on velope receiving steels lib, e pile of loaded cu velopes being shovro in this steel; 2123 Figures 3 and 2. ln Figure 2, however, bile member lfll is in its lower ozgiosibiou, cool the blade ll, with the which ii; just loaded and moved. lies below bile H9. lie the blade is vrithclrevm to if. i lgl'lla, me pusher ibi starts its upvvazci cool as it oloes so ii: lifts the loeclecl envelope upwardly cool pushes it past the retaining shoulder ill veer lower edge the forward we e of the envelope proper position above the inclined side supports Dining this one creation, the flop ll? o1 2 troduoeo. into i wardly vibe ie envelope and inside of bhe flop 'Z'le slolepi' sea ing liquid. pusloesillliie," vibes c mic 1%, sole,"

" order to take envelopes of dllferent sizes.

already moved. into eelecl at the some time by virtue oi the fact loaded envelope which his Just been deposited sealing position shown in Flzure 2. The weight o! the envelopes holds the moistened flap m!- llclent-ly tightly against the back of the envelope;

to cause en'ective sealing thereof the moisture I The upper surface or the supports I I2 is pro!- erobly made of rubber or similar material, which is capable of a. slight gripping action on the material of the envelope. In place of a rubbersurfece small ricks or pin-like points could be employee. for the same pu pose. Some provision of this kind is important for the reason that as izbe blade is withdrawn from the envelope. a

, tendency occasionally arises for the envelope to be moved back with the retreating blade. The

5 velope from following the blade as it is with drawn. By providing this small shelf-like space I find that; the weight of the envelopes is sum cient to slightly grip the contents and thereby prevent withdrawal thereof as the blade returns to its iighl-beucl position.

At this point I should like to call attention to the fact that the axes of the two envelope stacks l? and Mil are parallel and that the operating feces of the two stacks'are in substantially the same plane, the operating faces, of course, being the faces which lie adjacent the plane of the reciprocating blade 4|. The envelope stocks are housed within suitable retaining structure which is made adjustable in any desired manner in The details 01' this stack adjusting mechanism, however, will not be described as they form no part of the present invention and could, obviously, take any one of a number of dm'erent forms, any

' particular form being largely a matter of preferred design,

i will now return to a description'ot the mannor in which the letizer or circular receives its second fold and in which any other supplemental matter may be added to the material which the reciprocating blade ll inserts into the envelope. I As described, the paper with its first told and with certain supplementary matter I! already for example, a return envelope which it receives 7 from the stack HI, which stack is suitably housed in a retaining structure or box H0.

, This box iii is suitably positioned and supported Just above the path of movement of the provision of the rubber-covered supports 2 pro vents this, because the weight of the stack of envelopes causes a gripping. action againstthe supports which is just sumcient to prevent any ienelencv of the envelope to follow the blade as As the blade envelope in the stack ready opened envelope as as previously described.

blade H and directly over the shelf I20,- by means of the rearwardly extending positioning rods H1 and the laterally extended supporting angles 1 H10, which latter are preferably secured to the left-hand side of the box. They have a hentom opening in the compartment H6 and to rest upon the shelf I20. The slight incline of shelf I20 permits the flap of the supplemental matter to open slightly so as to catch the advancing blade as will further appear.

In this instance it will be assumed that the supplemental matter II5 consists of return envelopes,'the flaps I2I of which are arranged downwardly with the apex of the flap pointing toward the rear wall II), as shown to best advantage in Figure 6. As the blade 4| advances to the left it first encounters the flap I2I of an II5, which envelope has come down sufficiently far to rest upon the inclined shelf I20 directly in the path of the oncoming blade. The blade picks up the envelope by passing between the flap and the body of the envelope and continues on its way, and when its advancing edge, with the envelope mounted thereon, encounters the upstanding letter or circular, it immediately starts a second fold or crease which is completed as the blade continues its passage through the rollers. Incidentally, the rollers I22 and I23 do not need to be driven as do the rollers 24 and 25 because the blade serves to upper roller I22 by means of the spring I24 in a -manner entirely ployed in connection with the roller 25.

similar to that which was em- Just before the blade reaches the rollers I22 and I23, it encounters a pair of swinging dogs I25 which are mounted upon pins .125, the pins being carried in lugs I21 which project forwardly from the lower portion of the container II 8. Thedogs I25 will then swing to.the left under the influence of the continued movement of the blade until such time as the blade'passes beneath their ends.- In this way the dogs in no way interfere with the advancing motion of the blade. n the return stroke the rear edge of the blade contacts the dogs I25 which are then swung to the right and upwardly into the position shown to best advantage in Figure 6, this action serving to raise the envelope stack 5 out of the way of the returning blade. It will be'noted that the container H 6 and the shelf I20 are slotted slightly in order to permit the necessary motion tainer to the factthat it is not necessary to limit the matter which is introduced by means of the con- IIB to return envelopes as it is perfectly 'obviousthat any other type of supplementary matter can be inserted, provided it is folded in such a way as to make possible a downwardly extending portion corresponding to the flap I2I of one of the envelopes 1n the stack H5. For

. mailed, such as the return envelopes H5.

supplemental matter might matter. I should also like to convenience, such be called "flapped point out that ening the machine and the stroke of the blade it is entirely feasible to utilize a plurality of supplemental feeding stacks similar to'the stack lit, the. contents of each of which can be. successively entrained or picked up by the blade during the course of its forward stroke. Of course, the bulk or thickness of any such supplemental matter introduced by successive compartments I I6 would have to be not greater than can be conveniently handled by the blade and read ily passed through the rollers I22 and I23, but it will be obvious that by proper design this feature of a succession of compartments IIG can be very easily incorporated in a machine of the character disclosed without in any way departing from the spirit of my invention.

Brief summary of operation To begin with, of course, it is necessary that the compartment 41 be filled with'envelopes which are to be loaded and that the box H6 contains a supply of whatever supplemental matter is intended to be included with the material to be With the various mechanisms in the positions indicated in Figure 2, a letter or circular is placed in proper position upon the upper plate 22, the accurate positioning of the letter being aided by means of the upwardly and outwardly flared guiding pins I28. At the same time, a return postal card I9 or other supplemental matter of a similar nature is placed under the retaining fingers 1-5 on the initial folding blade ii. The

7 horizontally reciprocating blade M is then moved pressure bar 58, as shown to best advantage in Figure 5. This action positively withdraws the lowermost envelope from the bottom face of the stack 61 and holds it in position to receive the material with which it is to be loaded when the blade 4| moves back to the left.

As the blade ll continues its motion to the right, it passes through the rollers m and are of the dogs I25 to raise the envelopes in the I box.

'After passing through on its stroke to the left, ter' or circular and other supplemental matter is moved forwardly and introduced into the alshown in Figure 5 and the rollers I22 and I23 At this point I should to callattention the blade with its let- '90, together with their associated parts.v

and then comes into contact with the levers 3? and Id which, respectively, operate the initial folding blade II and the back opening member During the initial movement of the levers ,3? and iii. the blade M also passes under the swingingjdogs 1 I25 which serve to raise the envelopes M5 and the compartment III; as previously described, in order to permit the blade to reach its final retracted position as shown in Figure 1. ;During this final movement of the blade di the lever 31 moves from its dot-and-dash line position shown in Figure l to its full line position shown by the simple expedient of lengthltd hi the same figure, which movement, as previously described, swings the blade H downwardly against the paper 2|, thereby commencing the first fold or crease and introducing the paper into the grip of the rollers 2% and 25. Substantially coincidentally with this action the supplemental matter I9 is discharged intothe crease or told by virtue or the fact that the rod l8 abuts against the stop member 20, thereby moving the fingers 5 to the position shown in Figure 1, so that the card I9 can fall by gravity.

At the same time that the initial told is thus being imparted, the lever 14 is moved from its dot and-dash line position shown in Figure 2 to ts full line position shown in Figure 1. This vcs to bring the back opening plate an and parts into the positions indicated go l, where they are just ready to begin time of backer the envelope 4. being; col position in the path of a oi r ciprocating blade 4!.

a to so back to the showing in order to call attention to the t ha view the pusher device wt their a the loaded envelopes upwardly into,

receiving; stack H9 is in its lowermost post-- @1931. As the blade 65 moves to the right in accordance with th summary of operation so tar described, the chain it! rotates the pinions ms and raises the pusher I so as to force the loaded envelope which had been previously dcposlted at the bottom of the stack HI, upwardly stack as shown in Figure 1, which action turns the flap 18 oi this loaded envelope into a substantially vertical position as shown in dotted lines to Figure i. Y

with the parts in the position shown in l, the blad 15 begins its forward or lelt hand stroke. and as it does so the tollowing opcradou "t place. First, the upper end or the lever Mi comes out from under the back edge of blade Alt, whereupon the wring 9'5 moves the ba i when member so sumciently tar to inteoduce the spring lingers it into the back of the envelope which is being held between the members at; and (58. This action serves to open the back oi the envelope as shown to best ad in Figure 5. Just before this action is completed, the advancing blade M pick up the lowermost envelope 655' or other supplemental matter from the box lid by virtueof the fact the edge oi the blade slips under the flap till. The blade then carries this envelope past dogs 92%? (which swine out of the way to permit such movement} over against the initially fielded letter or circular M which is standing in the vertical dot and dash position at, 32, oi Figusc ll. Further movement of the blade 4| to the material between the roller I23 9528 on the way to the opened-envelope which is waiting to receive it. This motion of the blade releases the levenfi, thereby permitting the to reiulm the pivoted blade H to its upper or inoperative position as shown in Figure 2%, where it is ready to begin another cycle of @Eiblfixtlillds.

the meantime, the pusher member Ni is ed dovmwcrdly and it moves downwardly cl: 5% moistehs the adhesive on the flap 48 c envelope which had previously been is me a clearly chovm in the enlarged view or hi the oi the stack lit. This envelope, now reaches the enevelope and advances all the way down into the bottom or the envelope, the spring fingers I6 yielding to permit passage of the blade and its load. when the bottom of the envelope is reached, the blade pulls the flap 48 free from the holding members and 68 and then carries the loaded envelope over into position beneath the stack llll. After the envelope is loaded and carried away from the spring fingers 16, the blade 4| encounters the upper end 88 of the lever 88, thereby causing it to move to the left to the position indicated in Figure 2, which action moves the entire back opening mechanism downwardly out of the way with a rather quick motion, which, of course, is aided by gravity, although properly balanced by means of th counterweight 83. The pusher lfll has descended sufllclently far at this time to permit the action Just described.

A the stack of loadedenvelopes moves downwardly in following the downwardly moving or foot 53 of the flap opening mechanism, thereby returning it to the position shown in Figure 2, where it is ready to begin another cycle or operations.

Alterthe blade deposits the loaded envelope in the compartment HO and starts its return movement to the right, there may be a slight tendency for the envelope and its contents to return with the bla'de, but this is overcome by the supports H2 and 3 previously described, which are preferably rubber laced, so that the weight oi the envelopes in the stack Hll causes the bottom one to be slightly gripped and the contents pinched in the envelope. This positively holds the loaded envelope in its deposited position. In order to perform this function accurately during the loading 01' the first few envelopes, it will be necessary to introduce a slight weight on the top of the stack I H) which, of course; will rise as the envelopes accumulate in this stack. This, however, is not shown in the drawings but is simply placed upon the top of the envelopes in the stack H0.

In the device as disclosed herein, the blade ll is reciprocated by grasping the knob 45 and manually moving it back and forth, but it will be' readily appreciated that such reciprocating movement could be imparted mechanically as by means of a suitableelectric motor. The letters or circularslll ,are laid successively upon the table 22 thecards l9 introduced at substantially the same moment, with the parts in the positions shown in Figure 2. I should like to mention, however, that I have developed entirely automatic feeding mechanism for the letters II and cards 09, as well as a continuously operating driving mechanism for the blade 4|, so that all manual operation can be eliminated. The details of these features, however, are not shown herein, but will be made the basis 01 additional applications.

the material to be loaded into the opened As pointed out in the objects of the invention. I want to stress the fact that all of the important mechanisms which so to make up my imthe plane of the envelope which is being removed from the compartment, said second lever being adapted to be actuated by the reciprocating blade when traveling in the opposite direction whereby to effect the opening of the flap and withdrawal of an envelope as aforesaid.

10. The structure of claim 8, together with a member mounted upon parallel swinging links for opening the back of the envelope after it is withdrawn from the compartment, a lever for actuating the swinging links, said lever projecting into the path of movement of the reciprocating blade and being actuated by the blade during the envelope removing stroke to bring the back-opening member into position to open the back of the removed envelope, and a second lever for returning the back-opening member to its inoperative position, said last lever also projecting into the path of movement of the reciprocating blade and being actuated thereby during the stroke when the flap opening and envelope removing mechanism is being returned to its initial position.

11. In a machine for loading envelopes, the combination of a compartment for supplying empty envelopes; mechanism for opening the envelope flap and then withdrawing the envelope from said compartment; mechanism for opening the back of the withdrawn envelope; 9. compartment for holding matter to be inserted into said opened envelope; 2. compartment for receiving loaded envelopes; mechanism for pushing the loaded envelopes into said receiving compartment; and a reciprocating blade for taking matter from said holding compartment, inserting it into the withdrawn and opened envelope, and carrying it into position before the loaded en velope receiving compartment; all of said mechanisms being actuated by the reciprocating blade. 12. In a machine for loading envelopes, a pair of paper folding rollers, a blade mounted to move toward and away from said rollers to feed the paper therebetween, means on the blade for carrying supplemental matter and delivering it into the fold of the paper to be carried with the paper through the folding rollers, a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a compartment for receiving loaded envelopes, a compartment for supplying flapped matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, the operating faces of said compartments being substantially in the same plane, a paper folding means lying substantially in the plane of the operating faces of the compartments, and a blade mounted for reciprocation across the operating faces of said compartments, the fplded paper from said folding rollers being arranged to lie across the path of movement of said reciprocating blade and said reciproeating blade being adapted to cooperate with the folding means in the plane thereof to fold the paper a second time, and said. reciprocating blade being further adapted to carry "flapped matter from the compartment containing the same into said second fold and to transfer the paper with said supplemental matter and said flapped matter to the compartment for supplying empty envelopes and then to insert such matter into an envelope, and finally to deliver the loaded envelope to the compartment for receiving loaded envelopes.

13. In a machine for loading envelopes, a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, said partment having an open end through which the I envelopes are removed for loading, means for holding a stack of envelopes in the compartment with their flaps facing said open end so that the 75 apex of the flap of the outermost envelope will project slightly beyond the plane of said open end, and means for gripping and pulling the flap to remove the envelope from the compartment.

14. The structure of claim 13 together with means for opening the back of the envelope while its flap is so gripped, and an envelope loading blade adapted to enter the'opened envelope and pull it free of said flap gripping means.

15. A machine for loading envelopes including a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a compartment for receiving loaded envelopes, a compartment for supplying "flapped matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, the operating faces of said compartments being substanthe supply of mapped matter in its compart-.

ment, said means being actuated by the reciprocating blade upon'its motion in the opposite direction, whereby to permit return of said blade to its initial position.-

16. A machine for loading envelopes including a compartment for supplying flapped" matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a compartment for receiving loaded envelopes, the operating faces of said compartments being substantially in the same plane, a blade mounted for reciprocation across said operating faces, means below the plane of blade reciprocation for supporting the flapped matter, means above the plane of reciprocation of said blade for supporting the empty envelopes, means above the plane of reciprocation of said blade for supporting the loaded envelopes, means for withdrawing an empty envelope and holding it in open position in the path of movement of said blade, the blade being adapted in one direction of its travel to remove flapped matter from the bottom of the compartment for supplying such matter and carry it to and insert it into said open envelope and finally to carry the loaded envelope to aposition v below the compartment for receiving loaded envelopes, means for pushing the loaded envelope into its compartment, and means for raising the flapped" matter in its compartment, said means being actuated by the reciprocating blade upon its motion in the opposite direction, whereby to permit retiu'n of said blade to its initial position.

1'7. A machine for loading envelopes including a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a-compartment for supplying "flapped" matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, the operating faces of said compartments being substantially in the same plane, a blade mounted for reciprocation across said operating faces, means below the plane of blade reciprocation for supporting the flapped" matter, means above the plane of reciprocation of said blade for supporting the empty envelopes, means for withdrawing an empty envelope and holding it in open position in the path of movement of said blade, the blade being adapted in one direction of its travel to remove fiapped" matter from the bottom of the compartment for supplying such matter and said withdrawn enthe loaded envelope carry it to and insert it into velope and finally to carry to appoint of removal from means for raising the fiapped" matter in its compartment whereby to permit return of said blade to its initial position.

18. A machine for loading envelopes including a compartment for supplying fiapped" matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a compartment crating faces of said compartments being substantially in the same plane, afor reciprocation across said operating faces, means beyond the plane of blade reciprocation for supporting the flapped matter in the path of movement of said blade, means for withdrawing an empty envelope and holding itin open position in the path of movement of said blade,

the blade being adapted in one direction oi. its

travel to remove the outermost piece or flapped matter from the compartment for supplying such matter and carry it to and withdrawn envelope and finally loaded envelope to a position adjacent the compartment for pushing the loaded envelope for receiving loaded envelopes, the opfor receiving loaded envelopes, meansinto the loaded the machine, and

blade mounted loaded envelope matter and carry envelope compartment. and means for moving the flapped" matter into its compartment whereby to permit return of said blade to its initial position.

19. A machine for loading envelopes including a compartment for supplying empty envelopes, a compartment for supplying fiapped matter with which the envelopes are to be loaded, the operating faces of said compartments being substantially in the same plane, a blade mounted for reciprocation beyond the plane of blade reciprocation for supporting the flapped matter in the path of movement of said blade, means for withdrawing an empty envelope and holding it in open position in the path of movement of said blade, the blade being adapted in one direction 0! its travel to remove the outermost piece of flapped" matter from the compartment for supplying such it to and insert it into said withdrawn envelope, and finally to carry the machine, and means for moving the flapped" matter into its compartment whereby to permit return of said blade to its initial position.

WM. H. ALDEN, JR.

across said operating faces, means to a point of removal from the 

